Quitting Twitter could pose problems for premier, says prof

A Memorial University professor says Premier Kathy Dunderdale may be disengaging from voters by disengaging from Twitter.

Dunderdale deleted her social media account Wednesday after CBC reported she had been following another user who was promoting adult-themed content.

"I have not used my Twitter account for over a year very purposefully," Dunderdale told reporters on Thursday. "I have decided to disengage from Twitter."

Lyle Wetsch, a marketing professor at Memorial University, said Dunderdale's move to go offline could turn away voters who are looking for transparency from their elected officials.

"Social media is allowing us to bring back the communication," said Wetsch. "And communication, by its very nature, is bi-directional, it's dialogue."

"It's not just talking at constituents, it's listening to them and it's engaging with them."

Wetsch suggested the premier could have blocked the user instead.

The premier's move came amid a week of controversy involving provincial politicians and social media, which revealed a lack of understanding by some government members as to how Facebook and Twitter works.

Wetsch said MHAs may need to learn how to properly use the online communication tools.

"[It] might actually inhibit or restrict others from getting involved and getting engaged and that's going to be a negative impact on the whole democratic process," said Wetsch.

He pointed out that federal politicians such as Prime Minister Stephen Harper, newly-minted Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, and U.S. President Barack Obama all have active Twitter accounts.

"Its not the only channel that you can engage with, but it is one of the channels and it's increasingly becoming an important channel," said Wetsch.

Dunderdale has still been encouraging her MHAs to tweet, and the government and several of its departments have official Twitter accounts that are used frequently.